Fall Out When the Situation Demands
“A barren land!” Feng Yu Heng sighed that she was down on her luck. She had finally managed to obtain a fief, yet it was actually a barren land. But she very quickly calmed herself and expressed that she could accept it. It was as Wang Chuan had said. If it was a prosperous land, how could the imperial family be willing to award it to anyone. It had to be known that fiefs that were given out could no longer be taken back! Unless it was seized back, but that would also cause damage to Da Shun.
“Young Miss.” Huang Quan followed up and said: “You still might not know what a barren land means. In that place, crops can’t be grown, and it’s not even possible to turn it into a farm. But there are mountains in the region. Also, this servant has researched it before. There is a mountain range in our fief, and there are two mountain peaks that belong to us. It’s also not a barren mountain!”
“It’s no trouble.” Feng Yu Heng waved her hand, saying: “Your young miss never intended to turn that place into a farm. Also, I don’t know how. It’s good if there are mountains. At the very least, we won’t starve to death by eating the mountain’s plants. That place is near the jade mine. We should also take care of tidying up the businesses.”
Only then did the two servants calm down. Their young miss had ideas. Over the years, she had never been wrong. As long as she said that it was not a problem, there really were no problems. Either way, they themselves were not lacking in money. They would be fine with continuing to live.
Feng Yu Heng finished tidying things up then prepared to leave the manor. Today, she had made an appointment with Xuan Tian Ming. The two would be meeting outside the capital then find an excuse to sit in an empty carriage then get all of the guns and ammunition into the carriage.
When the three left the manor, the sky had just begun to lighten up, and the streets were still empty. During the first month, not a single family worked. The people in the capital were relatively wealthy, and the majority enjoyed banquets or played mahjong. During the early morning, who would get up so early? When Feng Yu Heng set out, she remembered a matter, thus she called Ban Zou and told him: “Go to the Lian residence and ask Feng Zhao Lian if he wants to come to the military camp with us. We will wait for you inside the imperial carriage. Go quickly and return quickly.”
Ban Zou was puzzled, “What are you bringing that evildoer for?”
“100 thousand of the troops in the military camp belong to him. Say, do you think he should be brought along to take a look?” Feng Yu Heng did not say anything else and climbed into the imperial carriage.
Huang Quan saw that she looked a little off and was a bit worried for Ban Zou. She could not help but be a little nosy and say: “Ban Zou just acts a little too familiar. Young miss, you must not get angry at him.”
Feng Yu Heng shook her head, “It’s no problem.” These people had been at her side for many years. How could she not understand them? Ban Zou was exactly as Huang Quan had said. He had become too familiar with her and did not act as an outsider. It was such that he would have some sort of question or something to say to the majority of the things that she said. He would not go and do it without a single condition. Of course, this sort of hidden guard was rather willful and unlike the ones that Xuan Tian Ming had at his side, who were all a bit more robotic and did not communicate emotionally.
Ban Zou moved quickly, and the group waited inside the imperial carriage for half an hour at most before he returned; however, he returned alone. Arriving before Feng Yu Heng, he spread his hands: “That evildoer isn’t coming.”
Feng Yu Heng nodded. This outcome was not unexpected. She had Huang Quan inform the driver that he could depart; however, Ban Zou continued to remain standing inside the carriage. Staring at Feng Yu Heng, he asked: “Does master wish to know his reason for not going?”
Feng Yu Heng raised an eyebrow: “Then you might as well talk about it. Either way, we have nothing to do along the way.”
The corners of Ban Zou’s lips twitched. Whenever it came to a discussion about Feng Zhao Lian, the disdain on his face was mixed with contempt: “That evildoer has been bringing all sorts of nice things over to the Chun Palace recently. He has been bringing all sorts of basic items like food, clothing and other daily-use items. He just requests to meet with His Highness the seventh prince. As a result, he has been rebuffed every day. He isn’t even able to get inside the palace’s gates; however, he is still happy to do it. When this subordinate went to look for him and mentioned master’s suggestion, he refused very frankly. He told this subordinate to carry a message for master. He said that since those troops have been given to you, they are your personal troops. Whether they are left in the camp to waste supplies while doing nothing or they are sent onto the battlefield to kill enemies, they are unrelated to him. He is no longer the general of those troops. It’s natural that he would not take that responsibility today.” After Ban Zou finished speaking, his body swayed, as he disappeared.
Feng Yu Heng, however, was a little bit moved by Feng Zhao Lian’s words. No matter what was said, to be able to give up on power and give up on troops required a great deal of courage, no matter who it was. For Feng Zhao Lian to be able to do it to such a degree, whether it was her or Xuan Tian Ming, they would feel grateful.
“Young Miss.” Wang Chuan could see what Feng Yu Heng was thinking and said: “This is also Prince Lian’s own choice. Since he wanted to come to Da Shun to be a normal citizen, we just need to act according to his wishes and allow him to live a peaceful life. It will also fulfill his desire to leave Qian Zhou.”
“Wang Chuan.” Huang Quan was very torn, “You won’t follow this up and advise Young Miss to help that Prince Lian get close to His Highness the seventh prince, right?”
Wang Chuan glared at her, “How could that be possible.”
“But that person’s intentions are focused on His Highness the seventh prince. Aside from this, what else is there that will allow him to feel that his days are comfortable?”
In regards to this, Wang Chuan was unable to provide a response. It was Feng Yu Heng that said: “100 thousand troops is not enough to buy him the ability to do as he wishes. Even if he did not hand over his troops back then, it would have just been a battle. Sooner or later, he would have been a defeated general. That’s why it’s impossible for him to use this to have me help him get close to seventh brother. I can’t just have seventh brother get scammed for the sake of 100 thousand troops. That’s something that absolutely must not be done.”
The two servants nodded. This was right. They had to follow this sort of master. Absolutely no tolerance and absolutely no chance of giving up on their principles for the sake of a so-called grace. Falling when it was time to have a falling out, who cares who you are. The two were in great agreement with her description of Feng Zhao Lian as a “defeated general!”
The carriage very quickly left the capital. Xuan Tian Ming was waiting outside for them. Upon seeing the imperial carriage arrive, he immediately stepped forward. Feng Yu Heng left her two servants in the carriage and climbed out herself to secretly speak with Xuan Tian Ming. The two spoke for a while then climbed into a normal carriage. The others watched and did not understand why, but their masters were together. They definitely had some sort of goal, and nobody went to ask.
The procession of carriages continued to advance toward the mountains. As for Feng Yu Heng and Xuan Tian Ming, after the two entered the carriage, they did not delay for a single moment. Feng Yu Heng began to pull out the guns that she had chosen beforehand from her sleeve. Xuan Tian Ming was responsible for placing them neatly to ensure that two carriages could carry the things that Feng Yu Heng needed in full.
After one carriage was filled, the two called for the carriages to stop then moved into another carriage and continued to fill that one up. The drivers of the two carriages noticed the change in the weight of the carriages, as they seemed to have been filled with something, but they truly could not understand what was happening. With puzzled expressions, they continued to drive their carriages. They continued until they reached the foot of the mountains when Xuan Tian Ming unexpectedly decided to take a longer route rather than soar over the mountain with qinggong. This caused Wang Chuan, Huang Quan and Bai Ze to all feel very puzzled. Even Ban Zou, who had also come out, had a curious expression.
But curious was just curiosity. If it was just Feng Yu Heng herself, the group might have been able to ask a few questions, but Xuan Tian Ming was also present. They did not have the courage and could only take the long way around. This cost them a few more hours before they reached the military camp.
Feng Yu Heng had not come over here in a long time. When the soldiers that were standing guard saw her, they were very cordial, calling her princess, and she was not stingy. Before exiting, she had already pulled out a lot of chocolate from her space. On such a cold day, whether it was patrolling or training, it was very bitter work. Having chocolate on their person to eat from time to time would also help with their stamina.
Of course, she did not have the energy to prepare enough chocolate for 100 thousand soldiers. She only prepared a few bundles. Whenever she met with a patrolling soldier, she would give one to them and have them share it with the others. Whomever she met would be given one. Those that did not get any would have their chances later on.
In regards to Feng Yu Heng’s arrival, Xuan Tian Ming did not announce it. He just called for the Divine Intent Army’s generals, He Gan and Xi Fang. He then nodded to Feng Yu Heng and led his people into the military camp, leaving Feng Yu Heng with the two generals to speak.
Wang Chuan and Huang Quan also left with Xuan Tian Ming. This was not their first time coming over, and they knew the rules of the place. Naturally, when they entered the military camp with their young miss, they had official matters to tend to. She could not be like a delicate young miss and bring along two maidservants to take care of her. Of course, Wang Chuan and Huang Quan were experts among experts. Every time they came over, there would be soldiers that would seek them out to spar. Soldiers that were trained for large-scale battles naturally had martial arts that were inferior to the unique training that they had received to make them experts. That was why they could oftentimes obtain some advice from the two. That would be considered their gains.
Back to Feng Yu Heng’s side, He Gan and Xi Fang were in charge of the Divine Intent Army’s Divine Archery Group and Support Group. Perhaps it was from the moment that Feng Yu Heng formed the Divine Intent Army, but Xuan Tian Ming’s figure as the head general was no longer as lofty as it had been in the past. In his place was the little girl that had chosen them. All of their abilities had been handed down from Feng Yu Heng. To them, Feng Yu heng was not just the lead general of the Divine Intent Army, but she was also their mentor.
The two kneeled toward Feng Yu Heng and performed a grand salute. Feng Yu Heng did not refuse it, calmly accepting it. When the two stood up, she smiled at the two and shoved small pouches with the word “fortune” embroidered on them into their hands. In any case, it was the new year. Inside each pouch was a banknote for 1000 taels of silver. It could be considered the monetary gift presented for new year’s.* Either way, she had earned a large amount from the Sheng Palace. She was currently a wealthy person. This bit of money really was not much to her, but to He Gan and Xi Fang, this was an amount that could not be earned through their salaries as soldiers even given many years.
The pleasant surprise prepared by Feng Yu Heng for the two did not end there, as she told the two: “I am unable to prepare the award money for 100 thousand soldiers, but the 1000 troops of our Divine Intent Army must be given their presents. Today, I brought banknotes. Each person will get 100 taels. It’s not much, but it’s the new year. It’s a good start.” Xuan Tian Ming had estimated that the gold stolen from the Sheng Palace had a value of 30 million taels. Now that she handed out 100 taels to 1000 people, Feng Yu Heng really did not think anything of it. Also, leading soldiers to fight in battles was like this. Only relying on an individual’s charisma to convince the soldiers would not last. What had these soldiers become soldiers for? Was it not to have a job to do and to receive their salary as a soldier to provide for their families? When Da Shun conscripted soldiers, they did not look for only sons. Their salaries needed to provide for their families and siblings. Their missions were important. Right now, she was the Divine Intent Army’s head general. It was as she had said. She could not do anything about the 100 thousand troops, but the small Divine Intent Army was something that she had to concern herself with.
*TN: Usually red envelopes given by parents to children and sometimes given by employers to employees